Cast

Sharlto Copley as Wikus van de Merwe, a worker at the MNU Department for Relations with Extraterrestrial Civilizations. District 9 was Copley's first professional role in a feature film. Actors like Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams influenced Copley's approach to character. Director Blomkamp was friends with Copley from his time in Johannesburg, and he was able to choose an unknown actor like Copley because he was not constrained by the demands of a large studio.